APhA Responds to U.S. News' Suggestion for Rx Price Shopping

Ken Rankin

Published Online: Saturday, January 1, 2005

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A recent article in the U.S. News &World Report urging consumers to price-shop
for prescription drugs may encourage
many Americans to use multiple
pharmacies to fill prescriptionsa risky
practice at best, the American Pharmacists
Association (APhA) warned.

The article, "Shopping Around: Prices
at nearby drugstores vary by huge
amounts," appeared in the national magazine's
September 20, 2004 Special Report
issue, "How to Save Money on Meds - A
Guide to Finding the Best Deals."

In response to the article's suggestion
that consumers "shop around" for
the pharmacy offering the best price
on their prescriptions, APhA Executive
Vice President John Gans said that
"medications are not inert products
like toasters or cars," and that "the
risks of problems with medications is
much, much higher than the risks
from burnt toast."

Shopping around for prescriptions
at multiple pharmacies undercuts the
pharmacist's ability to monitor medication
use, Gans warned. "Keeping
their pharmacist informed of their
complete medication profile is the
only way pharmacists can identify
potential contraindications and other
medical errors," he said.

"At a minimum, your article should
have told consumers of their responsibility
to tell each pharmacist involved
in their care that they are obtaining
medications from more than one pharmacy
and what those medications
are," Gans told the magazine.